John Peacock AM

Chief Executive Officer

John is one of Australia’s most experienced advisors to associations and charities and is a thought leader for the associations sector. He is a regular national and international presenter, on matters essential to the governance and operations of associations, charities and other mutual bodies.

Since 2000, John has trained and consulted to hundreds of associations and charities, large and small, on strategic planning, governance, Board effectiveness, operations, restructuring, financial issues and external reviews.

His particular areas of specialisation are mergers of associations and developing association plans that can be translated into actions, budgets and job descriptions.

John’s work with associations was recognised in the 2021 Australia Day Honours List with his appointment as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) for significant service to the associations and not-for-profit sectors through a range of initiatives.

Fatima Sunderji

General Manager

In her role as General Manager, Fatima is responsible for overseeing a broad spectrum of activities for Associations Forum including partnerships and sponsorships, events, marketing, human resources, benchmarking projects, database and website development, member services and new projects.

Fatima was Associations Forum's first Manager when it was established in 2004 and oversaw membership, events and communications. She has also worked for Actuaries Institute and Primary English Teaching Association Australia and in the charity sector in Canada where she lived from 2011 to 2017.

Fatima holds a Bachelor of Social Science (majoring in Anthropology) from Macquarie University and a Graduate Certificate in Marketing.

Lynn Liang

Finance & Administration Manager

As Finance & Administration Manager, Lynn is responsible for all business finances and accounting for Associations Forum. Her role includes the preparation of budgets, forecasts and financial statements.

Lynn holds a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of New South Wales and is a Member of CPA Australia. She has previously worked as a Senior FP&A Finance Analyst at Whirlpool Corporation and as an Accounts Assistant at Abound Land Student Service and Migration Centre.

Michael Bell

Senior Associations Advisor

Michael is a Chartered Accountant, Fellow of the Governance Institute and Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors. He has worked in chartered accounting practices and the banking and finance industry holding General Manager roles in Finance, Strategy and Operations. More recently he has consulted in governance, financial control and risk management to a range of organisations.

He has been an active Committee Member in several Not for Profits and joined the board of Coeliac NSW&ACT before becoming President of Coeliac Australia in 2016. During his time as President he successfully transformed the organisation from a federated to a national company limited by guarantee. Michael brings a broad governance, finance, project management and risk perspective to his roles ensuring this works in a positive way to achieving strategic goals.

Andrew Gosbell PhD, GAICD, BAppSc

Associations Advisor

Andrew is based in Melbourne and provides a range of advisory services for Associations Forum based on his broad experience in governance, change management, leadership development, government relations and policy development, risk management, strategic planning, negotiation and partnership development.

Andrew has over 15 years senior executive experience working in medical colleges and associations, including successful tenures as CEO of General Practice Registrars Australia and Deputy CEO at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. He has a track record of working collaboratively with volunteers, association members and office bearers, and professional staff to successfully deliver a range of strategic initiatives at both national and state levels. He has well-developed networks in the health and associations sectors. Andrew also has governance experience as a non-executive director and currently holds a number of Board and Committee positions in the NFP and tertiary-education sectors.

Claire Hewat

Associations Advisor

Claire has over 20 years’ experience in senior executive positions including two successful roles as a CEO at Dietitians Australia and Allied Health Professions Australia. Claire has also had substantial non-executive governance experience on five national and one international board. She has extensive experience in professional self-regulation and is currently chair of the Conduct and Complaints Board  for an Australian allied health profession.
Claire has used her experience to provide support and mentoring to other NFP CEOs and boards in areas of governance, strategic planning, advocacy, complaints and disciplinary processes, change management and more.

Tony Gleeson MBA, GAICD

Associations Advisor

Tony Gleeson MBA GAICD is Associations Advisor at Associations Forum. He has over 30 years of experience in the fields of association management and governance, leadership, project and change management, organisational integration and talent development.

Tony has been Chief Executive of Australian Institute of Refrigeration Air-conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) and the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), and was an Executive General Manager with CPA Australia. Prior to his roles with membership associations, he held senior consulting roles in strategy, process re-engineering and change management with PwC, Deloitte and Terra Firma Consulting.

Tony is an innovative and energetic leader, skilled communicator / team builder, and adept negotiator. He has significant experience in providing support and guidance to CEOs and boards in areas of governance, strategic planning, change management and more.

Lewis Kaplan

Associations Advisor

Lewis has over 30 years’ leadership and management experience in public and primary health including over 20 years in CEO roles in peak consumer and health organisations including Diabetes Australia, Australian Red Cross NSW, Alzheimer’s Australia NSW and Huntington’s NSW ACT. He has governance, management, policy and lobbying expertise across a range of sectors including primary health care, ageing, aged and community care, public health, health promotion, community development, international development and mother and child health.

Lewis has a proven track record in initiating new organisations and concepts and bringing together diverse stakeholders to achieve outcomes which individually are unattainable.

He has been a key member of the leadership team for a number of successful association mergers. He has extensive experience (some successful, some not) of advocating to federal and state governments.

He holds academic qualifications in Social Anthropology (BA Hons¹) and International Public Health (Master of Health Sciences), as well as being a former Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD) and a Fulbright Scholar.

Abhinav Dagg

Operations Manager

As Operations Manager, Abhinav is involved in overseeing a broad spectrum of activities for Associations Forum including membership, member services and database development.

Abhinav holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in International Business from Macquarie University. 

Shielah May Bongato

Conference & Event Organiser

As Conference & Event Organiser, Shielah creates event programs to inspire association professionals and give them practical tools to improve their association, industry and members.

Shielah holds a license as a Certified Public Accountant and is also a graduate Master in Public Administration from Southwestern University in the Philippines. She was an Accounting Instructor for 3 years and later became a Finance Head at a young age.

Angela Chhour

Administration & Finance Officer

As Associations Forum’s Administrative and Finance Officer, Angela assists with finances and database management and is responsible for office administration and processing all event registrations.

Angela holds a Bachelors of Commerce majoring in Accounting from the Australian Catholic University.

Sarea Bhar

Marketing and Communications Officer

As the Marketing and Communications Officer, Sarea produces e-newsletters, bi-annual ASSOCIATIONS magazine and formal communication at Associations Forum, while also controlling the social media and website management of the team. She has gained previous experience through the production of marketing collateral, management of communications, content writing and the execution of diverse marketing campaigns.

Recently, Sarea holds a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Psychological Science) and a Bachelor of Advanced Studies (majoring in Marketing) from The University of Sydney. In addition, she is an avid mental wellbeing advocate and has been working with several mental health organisations since 2019.

Ninon Ocker

Senior Membership Officer

Ninon's role as Senior Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Ninon holds a Bachelor in Tourism from Estácio de Sá University, Brazil, a Certificate IV in Business Management from Kent Institute of Business and Technology, Australia and a Certificate IV in Hospitality from The Hotel School UNSW, Australia. Ninon has extensive knowledge in project management, business administration, event management, marketing and coaching acquired in a number of roles both in Brazil and Australia.

Ying Ying

Membership Officer

Ying's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Ying holds a Bachelor of Commerce-Accounting Degree from Macquarie University. Prior to joining Associations Forum, Ying has 5 years of experience as an Internal Auditor in financial and retail industries in Australia.

Felivic Aserios

Membership Officer

Felivic's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Felivic is currently studying a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Human Resource Management at Macquarie University, and has previous experience as a legal intern at a law firm.

Sarah Ross

Membership Officer

Sarah's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Sarah brings a wealth of expertise in customer service, client relations and event management, gained from her diverse experience across the hospitality and events industries in both the UK and Australia. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Sydney.

Srikanth Chitragar

Membership Officer

Srikanth's role as a Membership Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with member recruitment strategies.

Srikanth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Analytics at Macquarie University. With 4+ years of experience in client servicing, he has developed a strong background in digital transformation and customer support. His skills include building client relationships and project management.

Dianna Lew

Member Services Officer

Dianna's role as a Member Services Officer involves building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing members, as well as assisting with Associations Forum’s member recruitment strategy.

Dianna holds a double Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the United States. Prior to joining Associations Forum, Dianna has had extensive experience working as a US tax accountant and an operations specialist in different financial institutions across Hong Kong.